MEDFORD — A spur-of-the-moment hiking trip along the Appalachian Trail, originally planned to last two weeks, turned into a much longer journey for recent college graduate Michael Gersie.

Hiking 20 to 30 miles daily, Gersie walked the entire trail, which covers more than 2,000 miles from Springer Mountain, Ga., to its northern boundary in Katahdin, Maine. He remained on the trail from Feb. 29 until July 1.

Gersie, a 2011 graduate of Rutgers University and 2007 graduate of Shawnee High School, was notified in February that his employer would close down for two weeks. He saw it as a unique opportunity to hit the trail.

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“Although we have hiked on family vacations over the years, this was out of the norm for him,” said his father, Mike Gersie. “It really seemed to come out of the blue.”

The elder Gersie said his son told him of his plan to travel by train to Georgia and hike as far as Tennessee, where his dad would join him for a couple days of hiking and then the two would drive back to New Jersey together.

“In the back of my mind I had planned on (hiking the whole trail) but I just didn’t know what I was getting into,” said Michael Gersie. “I decided to try the trail for two weeks, get my feet wet, and see whether or not I liked it. After the first two weeks, I decided to stick to the trail and attempt to finish the whole thing.”

He checked in with his employer, who confirmed he would have a job to come back to, and then kept going. His father did meet him in Tennessee, as planned, but brought additional supplies Michael would need for his extended trip.

About 200 miles into the hike, Gersie met up with two brothers from Charlottesville, Va., who were also planning to hike all the way to Maine. The three became trail companions, hiking as far as Pennsylvania together before one of the brothers aggravated a prior knee injury, forcing him off the trail.

“Michael texted us regularly about their progress and the brother that got hurt was keeping a blog that we could read as well,” Mike Gersie said. “I drove to Pennsylvania when his friend became injured and brought him to a doctor for treatment. It was disappointing to find out he wouldn’t be able to continue.”

The injured man’s brother and Michael kept going.

Gersie said the trip is the hardest thing he has ever done.

“Countless times a day you feel like quitting,” he said. “It was the people I met on the trail that really kept me going.”

Gersie said one of many highlights of his journey was the opportunity to hike through Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

Michael’s parents and older brother, Chris, met him in Maine for the last day of his epic hike.

“We were happy to have the chance to hike the last leg of the trail with Michael,” said his mother, Gail Gersie. “Although it was a difficult climb and an even harder descent for this old lady, it was well worth it. Knowing how hard he worked to get to that point, we were so happy to celebrate the end of his journey with him.”

Readjusting to life off the trail is taking some getting used to. After a few days back at work in an office, Gersie admitted that at times it’s been tough.

“I feel kind of like a caged animal,” he said. “I’ve talked with the guys I was hiking with and we joked about having to shower and do laundry again.”

Gersie says the experience of his time on the trail will benefit him in real life.

“I feel like I’ve be come more patient and goal-oriented,” Gersie said.